


the night around our bed like timelessness

by crookedspoon



Series: Ra'sBat Week 2019 [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Age Difference, Explicit Sexual Content, Extremely Underage, Grooming, Incest, M/M, May/December Relationship, POV Ra's al Ghul, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, This is trash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-30
Updated: 2019-09-30
Packaged: 2020-11-07 21:31:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20824115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crookedspoon/pseuds/crookedspoon
Summary: "It is no concern of yours," he said, more forcefully than he might have wanted."With respect, grandfather, I am your heir," the boy had insisted. "One day it will be my concern."Or, the one in which Damian demands his grandfather teach him how to sex.





	the night around our bed like timelessness

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kess](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kess/gifts).

> Written for Day 6 "Possessiveness | Role reversal" at Ra'sBat Week.
> 
> I seem to be writing the same kind of trope with different pairings lately - although to be fair, I've had this idea since at least December of last year. I am finally depraved enough to write it.
> 
> I'm not kidding about the underage. This has not been beta'd because even if I'd been faster, I would not have wanted to sully anyone's eyes with this. It is... either sweet (if you can ignore the underage creepy factor) or Ra's is an unreliable narrator. You decide.

From his stronghold atop the world, Ra's has seen empires rise and fall, some leaving behind legacies for the ages, others leaving behind nothing more than dust. Who still remembers all the armies that had invaded the Indus River Valley, to name just one place? Not even he does, for many had even before his time.

Nothing lasts, is the lesson. Innocence dies and is replaced by hunger in its many forms. Ra's has been fortunate enough to be spared deprivation, although he had sought it out once, centuries ago, to know what it was like. Such was his lust for the experiences life had to offer. Yet even in times of overabundance one's hunger need not cease. It will find itself a new target.

"Grandfather," the boy pants atop him, a small frown creasing his forehead. Long, thin lashes curl against his skin, and his pink tongue darts out to moisten his already shining lips.

He has become a beautiful young man, so like his mother in many ways, but with the bulging muscles of his father coiling beneath bronze skin. As the new Demon's Head, he could have anyone he wanted, whether it be concubines from their own ranks or captured from their enemies. Anyone could count themselves fortunate to be chosen by him.

Of course, it used to be a development Ra's had opposed for many years, because no one was worthy enough to touch his grandson. Ra's had even forbidden Talia from so much as brushing the boy's hair when he had started to personally oversee the boy's training.

He had been so small back then, about a decade and a half ago, yet so brave and willing to learn. If it had not been for his presence and his air of command even at such a young age, Ra's might not have agreed to his request for many years to come.

In those days, the boy had crept into his chambers whenever he wanted something yet stayed respectfully at the door, head bowed, ready to sink to one knee the moment he addressed Ra's. Nowadays, he strides with purpose as no chamber is barred to him, and he confronts Ra's head-on.

"I wish to speak with you," the boy had said back then, knee and fist touching the ground.

Ra's had shifted his attention from his scrolls to his grandson, who had seemed to be in some sort of distress. "What about, my child?"

The boy told him about the discovery he had made. Ra's was not pleased to learn it.

"It is no concern of yours," he said, more forcefully than he might have wanted.

"With respect, grandfather, I am your heir," the boy had insisted. "One day it will be my concern."

"And you will be told everything you need to know when the time comes to take my place."

"I wish to learn now." The boy's tone was perfectly polite, yet there had been an edge of impatience in it that Ra's took objection to.

"Are you this bored with your instructors that you must disturb me about this trivial matter?"

The boy's lips compressed as though he was holding back an answer he knew would displease Ra's. "Yes," he said finally.

Ra's remembers how impressed he had been with his grandson's audacity. His eyebrows lifted. Not many people dared speak that way to the great Ra's al Ghul. That is, not many dared and lived.

If the boy was this adamant to learn the meaning of what he had witnessed, he would find a way to compel someone to reveal it to him. Members of the League were discouraged from interacting with him unless explicitly instructed to do so, yet they also knew better than to ignore an order from an al Ghul, no matter how young they were.

Ra's still enjoyed the boy's confidence and he liked for it to remain that way. And besides, if he continued to make a mystery out of the matter, it would only continue to pique the boy's interest. It was not worth to expend so much effort in denying him. It _was _a normal part of the League's training regimen, after all. Sexual assault as a form of torture has never fallen into disuse and Ra's preferred his foot soldiers to be prepared to withstand anything. His secrets were too valuable to fall into the hands of anyone depraved enough to stoop to this method of interrogation.

To contravene the effectiveness of such torture, Ra's had his disciples undergo it to slowly build up their tolerance for the pain and humiliation until it did nothing to them anymore.

"I see," the boy said with a frown that suggested he did not quite comprehend all that Ra's had revealed to him. He would, in time. "When will my initiation begin?"

Once again, the boy surprised Ra's. "It will not," he said. "You may put the matter out of your mind."

"What do you mean 'it will not'? Am I not to be instructed in this?"

"Indeed not. As you said before, you are my heir. As such, no one will dare touch you because you are too valuable. So let it be no concern of yours."

"If you will pardon my saying so, grandfather, but I think that precisely because I am your heir, I need to be prepared for anything our men and women are prepared for. How else will they respect me if I have not suffered as they have suffered?"

"You do not know what you are asking for," Ra's snapped. "You are supposed to be like a god among them. No mere mortal is allowed to sully your flesh."

The boy lifted his head then, emerald eyes determined. "You are no mere mortal, grandfather. You have personally overseen Mother's training in the past. Can you not teach me?"

It had been early spring at the time. Ra's still remembers the nip of cold at his study window that the fire in the fireplace could not eliminate. Long years of meditation and learning how to regulate his body temperature have made him immune to the changes of the season, even unaware of them, yet he had not been immune to the flash of heat that shot through his body to hear this request.

The boy was so like his mother: self-assured and demanding and knowing in ways he should not have been at his age. He knew that he would get what he wanted, one way or another. He knew that Ra's would sooner take the task of training upon himself than let anyone else touch him.

He knew that just like Talia, he was _his. _His family. His responsibility. But also his duty.

"Very well," Ra's finally conceded. "But you will speak to no one of this. Not even to your mother. I will handle your training from now on."

"I understand, grandfather."

That was how they began.

At the outset, Ra's would have the boy strip off his clothing and sit with him in the nude while they drank tea and discussed the progress of his studies. Despite his stoic outward appearance, the boy was nervous without the protective layering shielding him from his grandfather's gaze

The day the boy entered his chambers and removed his clothing without hesitation and without having to be told, Ra's took him to his bed. The boy sank onto the silken pillows, color dusting his cheeks as he reached for Ra's without trying to appear too eager. Ra's lay down next to him, hugged his small, shivering body to his chest and began stroking his goose-pimpled skin. He stroked his fingers gently up and down the boy's arm until his shivering subsided and he fell asleep.

With every new session, Ra's would explore more of his grandson's skin to make him grow accustomed to his touch. He waited until his small body stilled and his breathing evened out before slipping out of bed again and seeing to his other duties before he could truly settle in for the night. More and more, he found he had to meditate before he allowed himself to slide back under the hides with his grandson. Otherwise he would not be able to sleep.

The boy's training would be an exercise in restraint for Ra's, too.

It became a nightly ritual between them, and Ra's had to admit that he came to enjoy the boy's warm, sleeping body against his own. Perhaps Ra's was undermining years of conditioning by making the boy feel safe in his chambers, although perhaps he was sharpening the lessons that had been instilled in him. The boy seemed tenser when Ra's was not around and relaxed as soon as Ra's clasped him in his arms.

To test this observation, Ra's once sent one of his failed Man-Bat experiments in for an assassination attempt. He lurked nearby, throwing knife at the ready, just to be certain the beast would not truly harm his grandson. It turned out that he need not have bothered. Before he was even fully awake, his grandson had ended the creature's life with one of the blades Ra's kept hidden at the head of the bed. Well, it had been considered a failed specimen for a reason.

Strengthened in the knowledge that no harm would befall his grandson even if Ra's kept indulging him in this manner, Ra's granted the boy access to his chambers even when he was not present to protect him.

Sometimes, after a voyage that would take him away from the boy for some time, Ra's would find him curled up in his bed, awaiting his return. The first time it happened, the boy had still worn his uniform for the fire that was kept even in his absence had not been enough to keep the chill of the night at bay. Or perhaps he had fallen asleep after his combat training while waiting for Ra's to return.

Ra's had left the boy alone until he himself had prepared for bed. Once he had joined him under the covers, he undressed the boy, who let himself be handled sleepily, throwing his arms around his grandfather's neck as though welcoming him back home.

The second time it happened, the boy was naked under the covers and Ra's strode over to him as soon as he saw him. He shed his outer garments, letting them drop to the floor for his servants to pick up and kissed the boy. Those were not lessons he had planned to impart, yet his grandson received them with joy, touching Ra's' neck and panting against his mouth as Ra's let his fingers roam his skin.

It was so soft, if marred by scars, that it sent a shiver down his spine and he could not stop himself from kissing the boy's neck and his chest, or from sliding his hands between his legs. His inner thighs were smoother than the finest silk and when Ra's cupped his testicles, the boy's legs snapped shut like an oyster protecting its pearl, trapping his hand between them. The boy mewled, a look of desperation overcoming him as he clutched Ra's' arm. His eyes screwed shut, his lower lip trembled, and his hips moved against Ra's without any conscious effort.

"Grandfather," the boy panted, voice edged with something close to panic.

"Hmm?" Ra's hummed against his chest, kissing the soft skin there. The boy's pulse was rabbit quick beneath his ribs, knocking a staccato rhythm against Ra's' lips. Ra's stroked his thumb along the underside of the boy's tiny organ, which drew a sharp gasp from him.

"I'm— I'm— Please, grandfather, I can't hold it in."

Ra's shushed him gently, his thumb sliding through the wet spot at the tip. "It's all right, my boy. Let it out. There is no shame in this."

The boy sobbed and then his organ pulsed against his palm, although nothing came out.

The boy was flushed and close to tears, clearly mortified by his loss of control. Ra's drew his small, shuddering body against himself and told him how well he had done.

It has been long years since his grandson has last needed reassuring of this kind. He is confident in his body now, and in his pleasure. When he captures Ra's' mouth with his own, it is almost demanding, although he knows he need not demand anything from Ra's. Ra's grants it willingly.

His thrusts are powerful and precise, making Ra's come undone just like the hand that so surely wraps around his erection and pumps it in time to the rhythm he has set.

His hands used to be so small they could barely fit around Ra's' length. He had to use both when he wanted to touch Ra's and even that had not been enough to cover it. Not that it mattered. His unpracticed attentions took Ra's off-guard in a way that a professional's display at innocence could not. Ra's cared not for his own pleasure, yet once the boy had grown accustomed to how good his genitals could make him feel, he wanted to share the sensation with Ra's.

"Does it feel good, grandfather?" the boy would ask, kneeling in front of him on the bed, pressing his slim fingers into Ra's' throbbing erection. He would swipe them over the thick, bulging veins as he leaned forward to kiss the tip.

Ra's would suppress a groan and stroke the boy's hair. He was so beautiful and good, and deserved the world that Ra's was preparing for him. His tongue was hot and pointed as it lapped up the moisture beading at the tip, dipping into the slit and making Ra's inhale deeply with want. When he took the head in his mouth, his lips would stretch around it. Already his mouth was so full and the more he suckled the more his mouth shone in the firelight.

Then as now he has looked Ra's in the eyes, observing him for any signs of what pleases him. How innocent he had been, how in need of praise. No more. When he holds Ra's' gaze now, it is for the spectacle alone. He knows how good he is, knows all the ways in which Ra's is going to react to his ministrations, and he soaks up all the signs of pleasure on Ra's' hardened face. When he takes Ra's into his mouth, he takes him all the way to the root, the way he has done ever since he was grown enough to take it.

He is the master now, and he does not have to bestow these gifts upon Ra's, but he indulges him the way Ra's used to indulge him when he brought the boy to tears with his mouth alone. He used to squirm and cry beneath Ra's because the pleasure was too intense for him to handle, yet he would always come back to continue the lessons of the previous night.

Ra's touched him reverently, like the precious gem that he was – he did not want Damian to endure this the way he did the hardships of his physical training: he wanted him to enjoy it.

The boy writhed and moaned and clutched at the silken sheets with his small fists as Ra's introduced him to pleasure after pleasure. 

When Ra's finally sank into his young, welcoming body, the long weeks of preparing the boy to take his length and girth seemed inconsequential compared to the bliss the boy made him feel. Pure adoration shone in his eyes as Ra's told him how good he was, how brave and perfect, and the boy shuddered in his release before Ra's had sheathed himself even halfway.

"Forgive me, grandfather," the boy gasped, lowering his eyes, cheeks blazing in shame. 

"There is nothing to forgive, my child," Ra's had soothed, his erection hanging red and heavy between his thighs, oil dripping down its length. _Restraint, _he told himself.

"I will do better next time," he promised.

"I know you will. Sleep for now. We shall resume on the morrow."

Morning came and the boy kissed Ra's awake in his eagerness to prove what a good student he was. He tugged Ra's on top of himself and, like the night before, had to spread his thighs obscenely wide to accommodate Ra's. He was still loose enough so they would not have to waste all morning to prepare him before he had to hurry to his other lessons. In barely any time at all, Ra's was three fingers deep deep inside him, and the boy was begging him to hurry.

After pouring a generous amount of scented oil over his length, he rubbed it against the boy until he relaxed enough for Ra's to breach him again. The boy was simply magnificent to be able to take so much into his small body. Ra's himself was trembling then, overwhelmed by the pleasure the boy was wringing out of him. It was difficult for him to keep himself this open, and he contracted around Ra's several times before once again relaxing enough for Ra's to continue. Ra's rocked into him gently, letting him grow accustomed to his thickness. The boy was beside himself with pleasure as well, head pressed into the pillow and throat bared, mouth parted so that saliva was dribbling from the corners. He came undone the moment Ra's touched his little organ.

Watching his grandson unravel in this manner pleased Ra's more than his own fulfillment, and he would cradle the boy and kiss him and whisper to him how he continues to exceed his expectations.

Eventually, the boy would manage to last throughout their lovemaking and it became Ra's' greatest pleasure to make the boy climax just as he spilled himself on his flat stomach, or later, when he could take it, inside him.

The boy would be panting and flushed and pliable as Ra's gathered him in his arms and petted his hair. When he had gathered enough strength again, the boy would snake his own arms around Ra's' neck. He would kiss Ra's and thank him for the lesson. The boy never let him forget that to him, this was training.

If not for that lonely fact, they could have continued in like manner until the boy craved to taste fruits of his own. The whole world stood open to him and he was free to choose whomever he wanted. Yet he seemed uninterested in the pleasures that awaited him outside these chambers he had become acquainted with so intimately.

Ra's was pleased. He would have been loath to let the boy go. He had proven to be a worthy lover who could match Ra's whim for whim. Even bodily chastisement for his growing impudence was to him another form of pleasure.

"You have shown me the many pleasures that can lead men and women astray," he had said one day, shrewd as he was. "Yet you have not made good on your promise to help me withstand assault of a sexual nature."

"I believe that you have mastered the necessary frame of mind that further training is no longer required." Ra's withheld that he had promised him no such thing. His agreement had been to train him; the manner and extent of this training had been at his own discretion. 

The boy's gaze remained steady and cool, his goal unshaken. "I want you to test me."

Like a lightning strike, Ra's leaped at the boy and twisted a hand into the strands he had begun growing out. He pressed his face onto the bed. 

"Do not presume to order me around," he hissed, leaning over the boy. "You may be my heir, but I am yet your master."

"Of course, master," the boy grit out against the sheets. "I will accept any punishment you see fit for my lack of respect."

The boy flashed him a grin, perhaps knowing that his position, with his raised backside, would entice Ra's into giving him what he wanted. 

He was correct.

That night, Ra's did not give. He _took. _He ripped the boy's clothes off and buried himself in his body without ceremony. Yet despite the pain and discomfort he inflicted, the boy smiled at him triumphantly. He viewed this as a challenge: _try and hurt me, old man. You will find that I can take it._

In the end, Ra's had still indulged his boy.

After that, it seemed as if something had changed for him. He no longer treated his boy like a fragile bird, but more like a lover. They took pleasure from each other more as equals than as teacher and student. 

It suited Ra's just fine. As long as his boy sought out his bed, he would not seek another's companionship. Ra's quite enjoyed his boy waking him before dawn by lavishing him with his attention – his sharp tongue did have clever uses – or indeed even taking advantage of his state without express permission. It had been implicitly given the first time he had not stopped his boy from sinking down onto his length when he had just roused from sleep.

These days, his boy was no longer as eager to sneak past his guards and into his bed, and indeed, he has the duty as Demon's Head to attend to.

Which does not mean he would not take his trusted advisor aside for a quick discussion of matters that becomes a drawn-out debate in his chambers.

Yet for the most part, they confine their trysts to the depth of night as they have always done. It is more private that way, more intimate.

"Grandfather," his boy would moan as he thrusts his magnificent length into Ra's. He is virile and strong, and Ra's feels centuries younger in his presence, even without the aid of a Lazarus Pit.

He would mark Ra's insides when his climax grips him, and he would settle against Ra's to catch his breath, sometimes still buried inside him. He has the weight of the world on his shoulders now, so Ra's allows him this. One more gift in a litany of many.

Ra's would cradle him sometimes the way he used to cradle him when he was half the size he is now, and his hunger would be sated for the while.

**Author's Note:**

> Title from " What I Would Give" by Rafael Campo.
> 
> Complaints are returned to sender. Save yourself the postage.


End file.
